J. Dinkins G. Grange is an attorney in Northeast Florida, helping his clients find solutions to their financial problems, which in some cases includes bankruptcy in some cases. This Blog contains general bankruptcy relevant information. His practice includes representing clients in various areas of civil litigation including Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies, foreclosure defense and probate.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

The federal government's Do Not Call (DNC) Registry allows you to permanently restrict telemarketing calls by registering your phone number at donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222. If you receive telemarketing calls after your number has been in the national registry for three months, you can file a complaint using the same web page and toll-free number.

The Federal Trade Commission advises that it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the DNC Registry despite e-mail claims circulating on the Internet telling you to do so. [This is regulated by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act]

Placing your number on this national registry will stop most telemarketing calls, but not all of them. Calls that are still permitted include those from:

Political Organizations

Charities

Telephone surveyors

Some insurance situations

Organizations with which you have a relationship

How To File A Complaint About A Sales Call

If you think a sales call is in violation of the Federal Trade Commission rule and want to file a complaint, use the online resource.

A Federal Trade Commission rule defines what telemarketers can and cannot do when making a sales call. Callers must:

Provide the seller's name.

Disclose that the call is a sales call.

Tell you exactly what they're trying to sell.

Disclose the total cost and other terms of sale before you make any payment for the goods or services

Tell you if they don't allow refunds, exchanges or cancellations

If a prize is involved, the caller must give you the odds of winning, inform you that no purchase is necessary, and tell you how to get instructions for entering without buying anything.

It's illegal for telemarketers to:

Misrepresent what they're offering.

Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

Threaten, intimidate or harass you, or call again if you ask them not to.

This FTC rule applies even when you receive a call from a telemarketer in another state or country. It also applies if you make a call to a company in another state or country in response to a mail solicitation.

The rule generally does not apply when you call to order from a catalog or in response to an ad on television or radio, or in a magazine or newspaper. It also does not apply to solicitations you receive by fax or e-mail. Be aware that certain types of businesses, including nonprofit organizations, investment brokers and advisors, banks and financial institutions, are exempt from the rule.

In addition, telemarketers are not allowed to use auto dialers to reach cell phones.

If you get a phone call from someone who says they are with your bank and/or credit company and they ask you to provide or confirm any personal information:

Do NOT answer any questions.

Hang up immediately.

Call your bank or credit company directly and tell them what happened.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

I thank all my wonderful clients for a
great year in 2013. Now, in 2014, I would like to change things to
be able to better serve my clients. As things slowed down around the
Christmas holidays, I had a chance to sit back and take inventory of
my practice. I have decided to make a few changes.

First, I have a goal of making myself
more accessible to my clients. Toward that end, I am going to
develop a way to provide consultations over the internet using
current technology, such as Skype. This should prove to be much more
efficient than having to get people to come into my office.

Secondly, I plan on moving my office to
a more central location for my clients. I am looking at opening 2
offices; one in Green Cove Springs and one in Middleburg. While the
offices are only 30 minutes from each other, they are in very
different geographic locations within Clay County.

I have a web address of
www.bankruptcyjax.com,
which is not very descriptive of being a Bankruptcy Attorney in Green
Cove Springs, or a Bankruptcy Attorney in Middleburg. Both are in
Clay County, and as such, perhaps I should promote myself as a
bankruptcy attorney in the Greater Clay County Area.

How should I promote my web site? Any
thoughts?

UPDATE: Effective February 15, 2014, my Green Cove Springs office will be open, and by March 1, 2014, my Middleburg office will be open.

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Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney -- J. Dinkins G. Grange, Esquire

I am a consumer bankruptcy attorney
helping people with their financial situations. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I help people find
various alternatives towards handling their financial problems, and
if needed, I can provide legal assistance to consumers seeking relief
under the bankruptcy code. I can be contacted by email at dgrange@grangelaw.org. I am available by appointment
during the week and most evenings.

I am located in Green Cove Springs on North Street, and Middleburg on Palmetto Street.

I am a member of the National
Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (www.nacba.org),
Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association, American Bar Association,
Florida Bar, and Jacksonville Bar Association.

I have also been designated a debt
relief agency by Congress and the United States Supreme Court and I
help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the bankruptcy code.

Disclosure:

We are a debt relief agency. We help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. This blog site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.